Page 224 - DENG402_HISTORY_OF_ENGLISH_LITERATURE

Unit 29: Absurd Drama

29.11 Summary Notes

The notion of the Absurd contains the idea that there is no meaning to be found in the
world beyond what meaning we give to it.
The term was coined by the critic Martin Esslin, who made it the title of a book on the
subject first published in 1961 and in two later revised editions; the third and final edition
appeared in 2004.
As an experimental form of theatre, Theatre of the Absurd employs techniques borrowed
from earlier innovators.
The Theatre of the Absurd is commonly associated with Existentialism, and Existentialism
was an influential philosophy in Paris during the rise of the Theatre of the Absurd; how-
ever, to call it Existentialist theatre is problematic for many reasons.
The “Absurd” or “New Theater” movement was originally a Paris-based (and a Rive
Gauche) avant-garde phenomenon tied to extremely small theaters in the Quartier Latin.
The plots of many Absurdist plays feature characters in interdependent pairs, commonly
either two males or a male and a female. Some Beckett scholars call this the “pseudocouple”.

29.12 Keywords

Surreal : Another influential playwright was Guillaume Apollinaire whose
The Breasts of Tiresias was the first work to be called “surreal”.
Theatre of Absurd : It is a theatrical style originating in France in the late 1940s.

29.13 Review Questions
1. What is Absurd Theatre?
2. What is origin of the absurd?
3. What is Relationship with Existentialism?
4. What is character of the Absurd?
5. What is the plot of the Absurd? Explain.

Answers : Self Assessment

1. Theatrical style 2. Theatre of the Absurd 3. Absurdist
4. Absurd drama 5. Luigi Pirandello

29.14 Further Readings

Books The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature, 3rd edition CUP, New
Delhi, 2005: Sampson, George.
A Critical History of English Literature, IV Vol, 2nd ed. Ronald, New York, 1970:
Daiches, David.
History of English Literature, Cambridge University Press, London, 1968: Legouis
and Cazamian.

Online links www.samuel-beckett.net/AbsurdEsslin.html
www.articlesbase.com/literature-articles/definition-of-absurd-drama-2412200.html

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 217